Penang police have arrested four Pakistani nationals, including two women, over a robbery near a petrol station in Permatang Pauh that left a 43-year-old policeman injured, Free Malaysia Today reported. All four, aged between 23 and 36, have been remanded for six days until 17 November.
Penang police chief Dennis Lim Kwang Keng said the four were picked up in the capital. “All four were arrested in two raids in Kuala Lumpur yesterday afternoon and early this morning,” he told Bernama on 12 November.
Five suspects, three men and two women, arrived at the court complex at 2.35pm under police escort, their hands cuffed, the New Straits Times wrote. Magistrate Savinder Singh Jugindar Singh granted the remand order the same day.
The court rejected a remand application for a 45-year-old man believed to own the car the four had rented. He was detained at 4.10pm on 11 November at a restaurant along Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, while the other four were held at 4.35am the next day at a boutique hotel nearby.
Police seized the car, clothing said to have been worn during the incident, mobile phones, cash and other belongings. The four are believed to have entered Malaysia on social visit passes, while the 45-year-old holds a permanent resident identity card.
The incident happened at about 11.30am on Tuesday at a petrol station in Jalan Samagagah. The policeman, an assistant superintendent, was refuelling when he reprimanded a man and a woman for soliciting donations from the public.
The pair are believed to have taken offence and followed him to another petrol station in the area, where he was confronted and an argument broke out with several people. One suspect pointed a sharp object at him before taking his belongings from inside his car.
Losses were estimated at RM10,000. The officer injured his hand and was treated at Bukit Mertajam Hospital.
Seberang Perai Tengah police chief Nik Aminuddin Raja Abdullah had earlier described the suspects as foreigners from a Central Asian country, including two women. Police later identified the four as Pakistani nationals. The case is being investigated under Section 394 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery.
Investigators say the group’s method was to approach people at petrol stations asking for donations before robbing them. Dennis Lim said police are conducting further investigations, and none of the four has been charged.
